What are we proposing?

For various reasons, available federal and state disbursements, philanthropic grants, and agency-specific fundraisers only allow local stakeholders to maintain the current status quo, which allows many struggling residents to fall through the proverbial cracks. Paired with the fact that thousands of Broomfielders are struggling to make ends meet, these realities prompted our Task Force to pursue new, ongoing sources of local funding to help fill the gap.

The first step we’re taking to help address our local housing instability crisis is to place a Broomfield-specific ballot measure before voters. Our goal: to raise approximately $10 million per year for critical local non-profit programs, services and staffing that address our most urgent housing-related needs: 

• Rehousing via temporary and transitional housing supports for our most vulnerable residents, including survivors of domestic violence, families who are temporarily displaced, unhoused veterans and other people experiencing homelessness;

• Stabilization via rental/mortgage assistance, local housing vouchers, and case navigation to keep cost-burdened households housed, including struggling multi-generational families, retirees, teachers, first responders, service industry employees, and others; and, 

• Unit Creation & Preservation of desperately needed, truly affordable housing options for struggling Broomfielders on the lower end of the economic and AMI (area median income) spectrum, as well as “gap funding” for local affordable housing development.

To be clear, we are NOT trying to address all of Broomfield’s full-spectrum housing needs through this one effort, just our most urgent ones! A successful ballot measure would both “raise the floor” of our current housing stability support system and give local agency stakeholders helpful leverage to separately raise the remaining $5 million needed to fill our $15 million gap between current needs and currently available resources. 

Our two-phase campaign to pass this measure looks like this:

Phase 1 – Preparation (Summer 2024-Present)

After applying for grant funding to fuel our work, we began researching potential ballot mechanisms, seeking the least burdensome ones possible that would still generate the income needed to fill our urgent housing-related gap. We’ve networked with local and area experts about the best ways to proceed. We’ve put together a steering committee of concerned local residents and hired communications and policy experts to advise our campaign. This spring (of 2025), we’ve partnered with Magellan Strategies and the City and County of Broomfield, on a scientific poll that will gauge likely voters’ perspectives on housing and on two potential ballot measures. 

We’re currently forming a group of local organizers and volunteers to help garner feedback from the community and to raise awareness about our local housing crisis. We expect to get our polling results sometime in mid-May 2025. Depending on the results of the poll and the likelihood that local voters’ will support our proposed ballot measures, we will either request that Broomfield’s city council “refer” our measure to the Fall 2025 ballot, or we’ll undertake a year-long campaign to raise awareness and engage with members of the community in preparation for a potential referral to the Fall 2026 ballot.     

Phase 2 – Official Campaign (TBD)

This phase will begin if and when our proposed measures are “referred” by city council to the official Broomfield election ballot. That could happen in either late Spring 2025 or late spring 2026.

What specifically are we proposing? 

Two measures, one primary and one secondary, and both would be new taxes, which is why they would need majority voter approval: 

Primary: A sales and use tax increase of 0.5%, which would generate approximately $10 million per year. A portion of the increase and the funds generated from it would be borne by non-residents purchasing items in Broomfield. As proposed, this measure would add 50 cents to every $100 purchase subject to sales and use tax. (Or less than 3 cents on a $5 cup of coffee!)

Secondary: A construction excise tax increase of 1.0% on commercial construction, which would generate $80,250 per year. This tax would serve as a complementary measure to the above sales tax and to the already existing “inclusionary housing ordinance” that was passed in 2020.